First post

A large number of thinkers and leaders across the globe now voice the view that the 21st century would be the century of knowledge. This is based on the expectation and hope that human actions and societal initiatives will be driven by new knowledge as it emerges and progresses in various fields, whether at the global or the very basic grassroot levels. But the creation of knowledge is not marked with finality or a terminal condition in the process by which it is created. Throughout history the human mind has created knowledge only to build on it further. So will it be in the future as well.

An important field in which this observation would apply aptly is in relation to knowledge on climate change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has now produced four assessment reports and several special reports. Each one of these has built on the knowledge created in previous reports, and yet there is much more to learn and much more to understand. It is also crucial that knowledge is subjected to scrutiny and intensive debate, because from it would emerge an acceptance of what may represent a major milestone and would require further movement forward to provide answers to pending questions. Debate and discussion are also essential for mapping out how knowledge in a particular field can be seen as affecting knowledge and developments in other fields. Referring again to the example of climate change, while we do have today a much better understanding of the physical impacts of climate change, we still have not investigated deeply enough the effects that these impacts would have on human life and society in respect of social as well as economic implications. Discussion and debate involving a number of disciplines would certainly provide new dimensions in our understanding of knowledge and fill up gaps as well as draw linkages across several disciplines and segments of many complex systems that influence our lives.

It is with this in mind that I have great pleasure in launching my blog, which I hope will attract widespread interest from those concerned with the future of humanity and the good health of planet earth. We have undoubtedly gone far beyond the capacity of the earth's ecosystem to withstand and accept the damage that we have imposed on it. But the day of reckoning, I believe, is here, and we need to do everything possible to arrest some of the harmful trends that have been in evidence for quite some time and thus avoid the danger of harmful impacts that the IPCC has clearly brought out in its Fourth Assessment Report.

I shall post my comments on this blog as often as possible, in the hope that you would send me your comments and responses, which would provide the basis for a healthy and continuous debate on the subjects that are crucial to the practice of sustainable development worldwide. I hope that this site becomes an attractive venue for expression of new ideas and new perspectives on problems that are going to become a major source of concern for the human race, unless we take timely and effective action. With the collective wisdom of committed professionals including policymakers, thinkers, academics, researchers and others engaged in higher education, I am sure, this blog will acquire a bright personality that would attract the knowledge and views of outstanding professionals from all over the world.